Zia Cooke Explained

Zia Cooke
Number:1
Position:Point guard
Height Ft:5
Height In:9
Weight Lbs:163
League:WNBA
Team:Los Angeles Sparks
Birth Date:9 January 2001
Birth Place:Toledo, Ohio, U.S.
High School:Rogers (Toledo, Ohio)
College:South Carolina (2019–2023)
Draft Year:2023
Draft Round:1
Draft Pick:10
Draft Team:Los Angeles Sparks
Draft League:WNBA
Career Start:2023
Years1:–present
Team1:Los Angeles Sparks
Highlights:

Zia Cooke (born January 9, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA. She played in college for South Carolina Gamecocks of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). At Rogers High School in Toledo, Ohio, she was rated a five-star recruit by ESPN and earned McDonald's All-American honors. A two-time All-SEC selection in college, Cooke helped South Carolina reach the Final Four of the NCAA tournaments in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

Early life and high school career

Cooke grew up playing for a boys youth football team in defiance of her mother, Michelle, who wanted her to join a cheerleading team instead. In seventh grade, she shifted her focus to basketball.[1] Cooke played basketball for Rogers High School in her hometown of Toledo, Ohio. She averaged 21.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, five assists and 3.1 steals per game as a junior. She led her team to the Division II state title, recording 33 points and 14 rebounds in the title game, and was named The Blade Player of the Year.[2] In her senior season, her highlight video drew national attention.[3] As a senior, Cooke averaged 21.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, winning a second straight state title. She earned Division II Player of the Year honors and repeated as The Blade Player of the Year.[4] Cooke was selected to play in the McDonald's All-American Game.[5] In high school, she also played softball and soccer, and ran track and cross country.[6]

Recruiting

Cooke was rated a five-star recruit and among the top players in the 2019 class by ESPN. On November 5, 2018, she committed to playing college basketball for South Carolina over offers from more than 60 college programs, including Ohio State, Texas, Louisville, Tennessee and Mississippi State.[7]

College career

On November 13, 2019, Cooke scored a freshman season-high 27 points with seven rebounds for South Carolina in a 75–49 win against Dayton.[8] She averaged 12.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game as a freshman, helping her team achieve a 32–1 record and a No. 1 national ranking.[9] Cooke set a program record for games started by a freshman (33), and was selected to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) All-Freshman Team.[10] On December 31, 2020, she recorded a sophomore season-high 26 points in a 75–59 victory over Florida.[11] On April 2, 2021, at the Final Four of the NCAA tournament, Cooke scored a team-high 25 points in a 66–65 loss to Stanford.[12] As a sophomore, she averaged 15.9 points, three rebounds and two assists per game, receiving First Team All-SEC honors.[13] In her junior season, Cooke was named to the Second Team All-SEC.[14]

Career statistics

College

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20| style="text-align:left;"| South Carolina|33||33||26.5||38.6||35.4||71.2||2.9||1.8||1.1||0.2||1.8||12.0|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21| style="text-align:left;"| South Carolina| 31|| 31||32.1||39.0||39.3||77.2||3.0||2.0||0.9||0.0||2.5||15.9|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22| style="text-align:left;"| South Carolina| 36||36||27.1||34.2||28.7||70.5||2.1||1.7||0.6||0.1||2.1||10.7|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23| style="text-align:left;"| South Carolina| 37||37||26.7||40.5||34.6||79.2||2.1||1.9||0.8||0.1||1.8||15.4|- class="sortbottom"|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career|137||137||28.0||38.2||34.1||75.1||2.5||1.9||0.9||0.1||2.0||13.5|- class="sortbottom"|style="text-align:center;" colspan="14"|Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.[15]

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2023| style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles| 39 || 4 || 14.1 || .289 || .261 || .813 || 0.9 || 0.8 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 0.7 || 4.8|-| style="text-align:left;"| Career| style="text-align:left;"| 1 year, 1 team| 39 || 4 || 14.1 || .289 || .261 || .813 || 0.9 || 0.8 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 0.7 || 4.8

National team career

Cooke represented the United States at the 2017 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in Argentina. She led her team to the gold medal, averaging 10.8 points per game. She recorded 15 points and four rebounds against Canada in the final.[16] Cooke won her second gold medal at the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup in Belarus, after averaging 7.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.[17]

Off the court

As a junior in college, Cooke, along with Caitlin Clark, signed a sponsorship deal with H&R Block as the first two participants in the company's "A Fair Shot" campaign to provide $1 million in support for female college athletes.[18] [19] She has also signed name, image and likeness deals with Dick's Sporting Goods and Bojangles.[18]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cloninger . David . Dawn Staley's freshman star developed her basketball skills on the football field . . August 19, 2021 . January 8, 2020.
  2. Web site: Junga . Steve . Talent, relentless work keys to Cooke's success . . August 19, 2021 . March 24, 2018.
  3. Web site: Sodergren . Andrew . Naples Holiday Shootout: Zia Cooke drawing attention from Chance the Rapper, NBA stars . . August 19, 2021 . December 28, 2018.
  4. Web site: Bastock . Ashley . Winning encore: Rogers' Cooke repeats as All-Blade girls player of the year . . August 19, 2021 . March 23, 2019.
  5. Web site: Bastock . Ashley . Toledo's Cooke helps East win McDonald's All-American Game . . August 19, 2021 . March 27, 2019.
  6. Web site: Villa . Walter . Golden and gloved, Zia Cooke earns glowing reviews in recruiting circles and beyond . . August 19, 2021 . June 15, 2017.
  7. Web site: Junga . Steve . Rogers star Zia Cooke commits to South Carolina . . August 19, 2021 . November 5, 2018.
  8. Web site: Hadley . Greg . One simple change has Gamecock freshman Zia Cooke 'back to her explosive self' . . August 19, 2021 . January 17, 2020.
  9. Web site: Toledo's Zia Cooke featured in Sports Illustrated . . August 19, 2021 . November 24, 2020.
  10. Web site: Johnson . Autumn . South Carolina's young talent looks to take care of unfinished business . NCAA.com . August 19, 2021 . September 23, 2020.
  11. Web site: College basketball: Cooke scores 26 points in South Carolina victory . . . August 19, 2021 . December 31, 2020.
  12. Web site: Cooke scores 25 in South Carolina's close Women's Final Four loss . . August 19, 2021 . April 2, 2021.
  13. Web site: Cooke Named a Finalist for Ann Meyers Drysdale Award . University of South Carolina Athletics . August 19, 2021 . March 2, 2021.
  14. Web site: Stone . Augusta . Aliyah Boston, USC dominate SEC awards. Dawn Staley named Coach of the Year . . March 6, 2022 . March 1, 2022.
  15. Web site: Zia Cooke Stats. Sports-Reference. April 11, 2024.
  16. Web site: Junga . Steve . Hoop dreams coming true for Cooke . . August 19, 2021 . June 25, 2017.
  17. Web site: Cooke helps Americans to FIBA U-17 Women's World Cup title . . August 19, 2021 . July 29, 2018.
  18. Web site: Casey . Tim . H&R Block Signs Two Women's Basketball Players To NIL Deals, Eyes Pacts With Other Female College Athletes . . March 6, 2022 . March 1, 2022.
  19. Web site: Voepel . Mechelle . Caitlin Clark, Zia Cooke headline $1 million NIL initiative targeting inequities for women college athletes . . March 6, 2022 . March 1, 2022.